Merry-go-round



Patented Nov, l8, lQZd,

JOHN F. NAGORSKI AND DUBJNOOD CAB/SE, OF BEDFORD, OHIO.

MERRY-GO-ROUND.

Application filed. April 11, 1923. Serial No. 631,408.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that we, JOHN F. Nnconsnr and DURwooo F. CAnsn, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Bedford, in the county of Guyahoga andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMerry-Go-Rounds, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in.111GI'1y'-gO10U11ClS of that type which are driven around by one of thepersons riding upon or using the same, and the principal object of theinvention is to provide a. simpler and cheaper merry-goround for useupon home lawns, school playgrounds, and other pleasure grounds orlaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a merry-go-ro-undembodying a supporting base with removable seat carrying beams andfoldable supporting legs, and

wherein the arms and backs of the seatsare fold-able so that thestructure may beknocked down and thereby require a minimum amount ofspace during shipment or stor-' age, when not in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a merrygo-roundembodyinga supporting base with radiating seat forming boards rotatably mountedthereon and provided with foldable seat arms and backs for the safeaccommodation of passengers, one of the boards being provided with handgrips to act as a starting board and also being provided with a foldablehanger to support the person in a crouched standing position after hehas started the merry-goround.

With the above general objects in View, and others that will becomeapparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the sameconsists in the novel form,

combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described,shown in the accompanying drawings, and claimed.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views 1- Fi-gure 1 is a topplan view, partly broken away, of a merry-go-r'ound constructed. inaccordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the lower'platform with its legs infolded position.

Figure is a perspective view of one of the outer keeper strips for thepassenger boards.

Figure 4; is a sectional View on line 44 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the seat boards.

Referring more in detail to the several views the present inventionembodies a supporting base including a platform. 5 having supportinglegs 6 foldably' attached thereto, said legs each embodying asubstantially C- shaped member with its ends pivotally attached as at 7to the under surface of the platform 5 near its periphery for radialswinging movement, and means such. as a hook or catch 8 for retainingthe legs in the outwardly inclined position shown in Figure 1. ALSshown, the hook 8 is hinged as at 9 to the under surface of the platform5 inwardly of the adjacent leg and has its other end formed todetachably engage the inwardly offset central. portion of said leg as at10. By means of this construction the platform 5 is effectivelysupported at the desired elevation and when the device is not in use,the hooks and legs may be swung in *ardly to lie flatly against theunder surface of the platform 5, thereby providing a compact arrangementcooperating with other features to be later described whereby the devicemay be packed or stored in a minimum of space. 1

An upper platform 11 is disposed above the platform 5 and of the samegeneral form as the latter, said platforms being held in spaced relationby means of grooved supporting rollers 12 which are fixed to the undersurface of the platform 11 andwhich ride upon a guide or track 13 placedupon the upper surface of the platform 5. This guide 13 is preferably inthe form of a rod or tube ring of circular cross section engaging thesemicircular groove of each supporting roller 12. I

The space between the platforms 5 and 11 is covered by means of a sheetmetal band 14 which is preferably secured to the marginal edge of theplatform 5 and which projects upwardly to a point adjacent the platform11, thereby shielding the clothes of the children from contact with therollers 12 and avoiding any chance of injury from this source.

The two platforms are held in proper operative relation by means of apivot bolt 15 which extends through aligned central openings in the twoplatforms and which has a suitable nut 16 threaded upon the upper V endthereof. Washers may be provided between the upper surface of and thenut 16 for i Theplatforms 5 and it is provided with a pair its outer endportion which may the platform 11 a well known purpose. and 11 may becomposed of a plurality of permanently and rigidly connected boards asshown, and the platform 11 is adapted for removable reception of theinner ends of a plurality of radial seat forming beams or boards 1'7.Each board 17 has its inner end remo-vably held upon. the platform 11 bymeans of a pair of aligned and spaced keeper strips 18 and 18 whichcooperate with the platform to provide sockets into which the inner endsof said board 17 are removably slid.

If found necessary any suitable means may be provided for positivelyretaining the ends of the seat carrying boards in these keepers, but inpractice it has been found that when the seats are occupied the weightof the passenger sets up sufficient friction between the upper surfaceof each board 17 and the inner keeper 18 for this purpose.

The remaining beam or board 19 constitutes what may be termed a startingboard,

of longitudihand grips 20, upon be gripped by one of the passengers tofacilitate starting of the merry-go-round.

In order to support thestarter after the merry-go-round has been placedinto operation so that the starter may also enjoy the ride, a. hanger orstirrup 21 is suspended from the board 19 near one edge of the latterbeneath thehand grips 20. This hanger embodies a substantially Oshapedmember which is preferably hinged at its ends to theunder surface of theboard so that it may be folded flatly against said surface when not inuse. In order to effectively hold the hanger 21 from swinging when inuse, a hook 22 is detachably engaged with the olfset central portion ofthe hanger as at 23 and this hook is pivoted or hinged in a suitnallyspaced handles or able keeper 24C provided on the board 19. It will beunderstood that the child may hoponto the horizontal lower portion ofthe hanger 21 while gripping the handles 20 and thereby safely enjoy theride as'before mentioned.

The seat carrying boards 17 are such as to have their outer endsconstitute the seat bottoms. and in order that even young children maysafely use the device, a novel form of retaining means is provided forholding the }')assengcr against displzufement from these boards. whichstructure may be termed a collapsible back and arm structure for eachseat. The arms of each seat embody two substantially C-shaped members anranged transversely of each board 17 and indicated by the referencecharacter 25, said members 25 being arran ed in pairs and hinged attheir end portions for radial swinging movement toward and away fromeach other. The extreme and portions of the members 25 are turned out asat 26 so as to form feet which engage the upper surface of the board orbeam for limiting the up ward swinging movementof these members to avertical position but permitting the same to swing downwardly toward.each other so as to lie flatly upon the upper surface of the board whennot in use. In order to retain the members 25 in their upright operativeposition each pair of the same is connected by means of a rod 27 havingits ends slidably engaging the members 25 which it connects, so thatsaid rod 27 may be slid downwardly to a position upon the inwardlyprojecting ends of the members 2.? for allowing the latter to be foldedor collapsed. This construction will also allow the rods 27 to be movedupwardly so as to engage the vertical. portions of said members 25whereby the latter are effectively rctained in upright spaced relation.Any suitable means for retaining the rods 27 in the last mentionedposition may be provided such as gins 28 extendin throu h c )enings 1 C335 in the members 25 beneath the eyes of the adjacent rod 27 andpreferably attached to its respective member 25 by means of a flexiblemember or chain 29 so as to guard against loss of the pins.

From the above description it will be soon that the boards 17 and 19 maybe readily removed from the platform 11 and that the guard frames of theseats. as well as the hanger of the starting board may be readily foldedinto flat engagement with the surfaces of these boards so as to presenta compact structure which may be stored or shipped in a minimum of spaceparticularly when the legs are folded into flat engagement with theunder surface of the supporting platform 5.

In this way a very compact, simple, safe and durable merry-go-round isprovided which may be readily set up for use and knocked down forshipment or storage without the requirement of special skill or tools.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the construction andoperation as well as the advantages of the present invention will bereadily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

lllinor changes may be made without deill parting from the spirit andscope of the invention, as claimed.

The legs 6 and stirrup 21 may oe provided with out-turned ends 7 similarto the ends 26 of the members 25 forlimiting the legs and stirrup intheir swinging movement to operative position. It will be seen that theinner end of each board 17 or 19 is re duced as at l7 so that the uppersurfaces of the keepers 18 will be flush with the upper surfaces ofthese boards.

What is claimed is 1. A merry-go-round embodying a supporting platformhaving collapsible feet foldable against its under surface and providedwith means for retaining the same in downwardly and outwardly extendingpositions for supporting the platform at a desired elevation, a secondplatform pivoted to and arranged spaced above the first named platformfor rotation upon a vertical axis, anti-friction members carried by thesecond platform and cooperating with the lower platform, a plurality ofseat forming beams having their inner ends removably engaged with thesecond named platform and resting upon the upper surface of the latter,and seat guard frames including members pivoted upon said supports andfoldable flatly against the upper surfaces thereof.

2. A merry-go-round embodying a supporting platform having collapsiblefeet foldable against its under surface and proy vided with means forretaining the same in downwardly and outwardly extending positions forsupporting the platform at a desired elevation, a second platformpivoted to and arranged spaced above the first named platform forrotation upon a vertical axis, anti-friction members carried by thesecond platform and cooperating with the lower platform, a plurality ofseat forming beams having their inner ends removably engaged with thesecond named platform and resting upon the upper surface of the latter,and collapsible seat guard frames including members foldable flatlyagainst the upper surfaces of said seat forming boards, and a startingboard having hand grips longitudinally spaced and secured upon its outerend portion and provided with a depending hanger forming a supportingstirrup for aperson starting the merry-go-round.

3. A merry-go-round embodying a supporting platform having collapsiblefeet foldable against its under surface and provided. with means forretaining the same in downwardly and outwardly extending positions forsupporting the platform at a desired elevation, a second platformpivoted to and arranged spaced above the first named platform forrotation upon a vertical axis, anti-friction members carried by thesecond platform and cooperating with the lower platform, a plurality ofseat forming beams having their inner ends removably engaged with thesecond named platform and resting upon the upper surface of the latter,and collapsible seat guard frames in cluding members foldable flatlyagainst the upper surfaces of said seat forming boards, and a startingboard having hand grips longitudinally spaced and secured upon its outerend portion and provided with a depending hanger forming a supportingstirru for a person starting the merry-goround, said hanger beingcollapsible against the under surface of the starting board and providedwith means for retaining the in depending operative position when m use.

at. In a merry-go-round, a plurality of radial beams, and seat framescarried thereby, each seat being formed of a pair of substantiallyC-shaped members pivoted upon a beam and adapted to be folded fiatthereagainst, and a bridle rod slidablc upon the sides of said C-membersand disposable to maintain the same in upright position or to permitfolding thereof.

5. In a merry-go-round, a seat forming beam having a pair ofsubstantially U shaped guard frames hinged to the outer end of the sameand arranged transversely of the same for swinging movement in adirection longitudinally of the board, means for limiting theswingingmovement of said members in one direction to a substantiallyvertical position, and a connecting rod having its ends slidablyengaging said members and movable to positions wherein the samerespectively retains said members in vertical position and whereinswinging of the same in the opposite direction into flat engagement withthe surface of the board is permitted.

6. In a merry-go-round, a plurality of radial beams, and seat framescarried thereby, each seat being formed of a pair of substantiallyC-shaped members pivoted upon a beam and adapted to be folded flatthereagainst, and a bridle rod slidable upon the sides of said C-membersand disposable to maintain the same in upright position or to permitfolding thereof, and retaining elements for holding the bridal rod inoperative position for maintaining the C-members upright.

7. In a merry-go-round, a plurality of radial passenger carrying beamsand a foldable hanger mounted on the underside of the end portion of onebeam and adapted to support an operator, in a crouched standingposition, and a plurality of seat frames mounted upon the tops of allthe other beam ends.

8. In a merry-go-round, a passenger carrying beam and a supporting framethereon comprising a pair of substantially C-shaped frame members havingtheir short arms pivoted on the beam, a rod terminating at both ends ineyes slidably engaged upon the sides of said frame members anddisposable 5 selectively in spaced relation to the beam for holding theframe members upright, or against the beam With the eyes engaged uponsaid short arms whereby to permit folding of the frame members flat uponthe beam. 1 In testimony whereof We hereunto aflix our signatures.

JOHN F. NAGORSKI. DURVVOOD F. CARSE.

